Hi,
I read a book recently called, I believe, "Having Faith". The story is about
a scientist who gets pregnant and about the research she has done on toxic
chemicals in our environment and how they effect baby development and
breastmilk.
The author states that basically all our food sources are contaminated and
that breastmilk is the top of the food chain, therefore the most
contaminated. She says that most breastfeeding supporters don't talk about
it because they are afraid to scare off mothers who want to breastfed. The
author goes on to say that knowing all that she does about the toxic load in
breastmilk that she still decided to breastfed her our daughter, Faith. That
breastmilk is still the best form of nutrition for babies and that the good
offsets any bad (according to research). She says the question is not
whether breastmilk is contaminated but what we should be doing to clean up
the environment. Her fear is that SOMEDAY, breastmilk might be too
contaminated to feed our children. She thinks it is wrong that pregnant and
lactating women are told not to eat certain foods (such as fish) because of
contamination. That we need to make every effort to clean up the environment
so all food is safe for all people.
According to the book (if I remember right), the TIMING of certain toxic
chemicals during pregnancy and later breastfeeding is what determines
possible problems such as learning disabilities. Certain toxic chemicals
introduced to a baby's system during brain growth can cause problems ranging
from non-noticeable to devastating. The vast majority of the book dealt with
toxic chemicals introduced during pregnancy.
If anybody is interested in reading the book, let me know and I will get the
author's name (I picked up the book and the library and returned it without
writing down the name).
Best Regards
Donna in Alaska

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